A total of 11.8 million tickets for the 2010 World Expo have been sold by the end of November, the organizers announced during a ticket promotion campaign in San Francisco, the United States, Tuesday night local time.

The Expo organizer granted a plaque to US-based Peregrine Travel Group(www.WorldExpoChina.net) to handle ticket sales in the country, announcing that the US residents can start booking tickets or Expo tour packages ranging from seven to 13 days.

In his letter for the occasion, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed his support for the event. He said the Expo would gather various achievements in global outstanding architectural, scientific and technological innovations, which would promote cultural understanding and exchange around the world.

He also urged Californian citizens to fully support US's participation in the event.

It is estimated that about five percent of the expected 70 million Expo visitors will come from overseas, among whom 600,000 are expected from the United States and Canada.

The 2010 Expo is serving as a new bridge in enhancing Sino-US friendship and cooperation, said Yang Xiong, member of the Organizing Committee of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, executive deputy director of the Executive Committee of the Expo, and Shanghai executive vice mayor.

About 200 US guests from all walks of life attended the ceremony at the St.Francis Yacht Club.

Yang and Hong Hao, director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, were interviewed by some leading media including The New York Times, Bloomberg and Dow-Jones Newswires before the ceremony, with topics ranging from the application of new energy to US's participation in the fair and Shanghai's cooperation with San Francisco.

Editor: Hu Min